Nintendo, Modern Warfare worldwide top sellers in 2009

The year-end report showing game sales for 2009 has been released, along with …

The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited, and Enterbrain, Inc. track the three biggest gaming markets in the world: the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. How did those three markets do in 2009? A report from the three groups claims overall sales were down eight percent, with game sales totaling 379.3 million units.

The year-end report also shows the top five games in the world for the calendar year 2009. There isn't much in terms of surprises, but the number of copies of Modern Warfare 2 sold shows the power of the US market in the gaming world, and Nintendo's dominance on the list likewise shows that company's stranglehold on the industry.

With four of the top-five selling games being Nintendo first-party releases, and the best-selling game of the year being powered mostly by American dollars, it's clear that Nintendo and Activision had a very good year... and that the West is a powerful force in game sales. While we don't have access to the numbers below the top five, it must be quite a battlefield down there.

Even without that data, this offers even more evidence that the Wii is very comfortable at the top of the heap. Sales this strong of both Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit mean that both the Balance Board and MotionPlus peripherals will continue to gain traction in the marketplace, which should lead to stronger support in terms of both first- and third-party software.